Roxon mulls law change

By
Phillip Coorey

The federal government is leaving open the possibility of legislating to overturn Friday's High Court decision which ruled a Sri Lankan asylum seeker could not be denied a visa on the ground he was deemed a security threat.

Roxon mulls law change

The federal government is leaving open the possibility of legislating to overturn Friday's High Court decision which ruled a Sri Lankan asylum seeker could not be denied a visa on the ground he was deemed a security threat.

The Attorney-General, Nicola Roxon, said a decision would hinge on talks tomorrow between the Immigration Minister, Chris Bowen, and his opposition counterpart, Scott Morrison. The opposition is pushing for an amendment to the Migration Act and Ms Roxon said yesterday ''it could mean legislative change in the end''.

On Friday, the court struck down a regulation that prevented the release of more than 50 refugees because they had been deemed a security risk by the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation. The ruling applied to one refugee, known only as M47.

Ms Roxon told the ABC's Insiders yesterday visas could still be denied on character grounds, and there was no need for alarm.